KR-20260066813-A - A HOLLOW FIBER MODULE

KR20260066813AKR 20260066813 AKR20260066813 AKR 20260066813AKR-20260066813-A

Abstract

A hollow fiber module comprising a plurality of hollow fiber cartridges is disclosed. Each hollow fiber cartridge comprises a semipermeable hollow fiber bundle, said bundle extending longitudinally along the length of the bundle and surrounded by an outer shell potted with resin at both ends, defining an inner volume for processing a first solution and an outer volume for processing a second solution, said outer shell is provided with a port for receiving the second solution to be processed in the outer volume and another port for discharging the processed second solution. The hollow fiber module comprises a first end cap including an inlet for the first solution and a distributor for distributing the first solution to a first end of each hollow fiber cartridge, and a second end cap including a collector for collecting the processed first solution from a second end of each hollow fiber cartridge and an outlet for the processed first solution. The module also includes a first connector comprising an inlet for a second solution and a distributor for dispensing the second solution to the ports of each hollow fiber cartridge, and a second connector comprising a collector for collecting the processed second solution from the other ports of each hollow fiber cartridge and an outlet for the processed second solution. The module meets market demand for hollow fiber modules with a large membrane area.

Inventors

묄러 미카엘 홀
트샤스쿠스 크지슈토프
안데르센 마즈 프리스
응우옌 수안 퉁
알비스 사이먼
순 주오페이

Assignees

아쿠아포린 에이에스

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20191211
Priority Date: 20181212

Claims (17)

As a hollow fiber module, a. A plurality of hollow fiber cartridges, each comprising a semipermeable hollow fiber bundle, wherein the bundle extends longitudinally along the length of the bundle and is surrounded by an outer shell potted with resin at both ends, defining an inner volume for processing a first solution and an outer volume for processing a second solution, wherein the outer shell is provided with a port for receiving the second solution to be processed in the outer volume and another port for discharging the processed second solution; b. A first end cap comprising a first solution inlet and a distributor for dispensing the first solution to the first end of each hollow fiber cartridge; c. A second end cap comprising a collector for collecting the first solution processed from the second end of each hollow fiber cartridge and an outlet for the first solution processed; d. A first connector comprising an inlet for a second solution and a distributor for distributing the second solution to the ports of each hollow fiber cartridge; and e. A second connector comprising a collector for collecting the processed second solution from other ports of each hollow fiber cartridge and an outlet for the processed second solution. A hollow fiber module including
In Article 1, A hollow fiber module in which first and second end caps are connected to a cover tube around their circumference, and the cover tube encloses a plurality of cartridges in the longitudinal direction.
In Article 1 or Article 2, A hollow fiber module in which the first and second connectors are connected by a central rod.
In any one of paragraphs 1 to 3, A hollow fiber module in which a distributor or a collector each includes a plurality of tubes fluidly connected to an inlet or an outlet, said tubes configured to accommodate a port of a hollow fiber cartridge.
In any one of paragraphs 1 to 4, A hollow fiber module in which multiple tubes are positioned at two levels along the axis of the distributor or collector.
In any one of paragraphs 1 to 5, A hollow fiber module having a cup-shaped receiving portion provided on the side of a first or second end cap facing the cartridge to receive a corresponding end of a hollow fiber cartridge.
In any one of paragraphs 1 to 6, A hollow fiber module in which a perimeter flange is provided on the inner wall of the cup-shaped receiving portion for joining to the outer shell of a hollow fiber cartridge.
In any one of paragraphs 1 to 7, A hollow fiber module in which a sealing member, such as an O-ring, is provided between the inner surface of a cup-shaped receiving portion and the outer surface of a corresponding adapter or hollow fiber sheath.
In Article 8, A hollow fiber module in which an adapter is fastened to the surface of a hollow fiber outer shell at an end adjacent to a hollow fiber cartridge, and a sealing member is provided at the other end.
In any one of paragraphs 1 through 9, A hollow fiber module in which a distributor of the first end cap and/or a collector of the second end cap includes an opening between two adjacent cup-shaped receiving portions provided at the bottom to allow liquid exchange between the cup-shaped receiving portions.
In any one of Articles 1 to 10, A hollow fiber module in which the first or second end cap is integral with the first or second connector.
In Article 11, A hollow fiber module comprising a connector distributor or collector that includes a first tube plate for receiving a plurality of hollow fiber cartridges, a second tube plate for receiving the ends of a plurality of hollow fiber cartridges, and a second solution chamber defined by an end cap, wherein the first and second tube plates are located on both sides of the ports of the plurality of hollow fiber cartridges.
In Article 11 or Article 12, A hollow fiber module in which a first tube plate positions a plurality of hollow fiber cartridges inside a cover tube in a liquid-tight state.
In any one of paragraphs 11 to 13, A hollow fiber module in which a second tube plate is attached in a liquid-tight manner inside an end cap around its circumference, and said cap extends axially into a cover tube to confine a second solution chamber.
In any one of Articles 11 to 14, A hollow fiber module comprising an end cap distributor or collector, a first solution chamber defined by the interior of a second tube plate and an end cap, wherein the first solution chamber is configured to be in fluid communication with the end of a hollow fiber cartridge and an inlet or outlet of the first solution.
In any one of paragraphs 1 to 15, A hollow fiber module in which three or more hollow fiber cartridges are present in the hollow fiber module.
In any one of paragraphs 1 to 12, A hollow fiber module in which 6 or 7 hollow fiber cartridges are present in the hollow fiber module.

Description

A Hollow Fiber Module The present disclosure relates to a hollow fiber module comprising a plurality of hollow fiber cartridges, such as three, four, five, six, seven, eight, or nine cartridges. Integrating a plurality of hollow fiber cartridges into a single module satisfies the industry's demand for modules with a large membrane area. The trend in module design is to secure progressively increasing membrane area. In the case of hollow fiber modules, simply increasing the number of fibers in the module bundle can be one way to secure a larger membrane area. However, this method of increasing the membrane area of a single module beyond a certain threshold complicates the production process of the membrane module. When producing hollow fiber modules, a polymer resin is used to cast ("pot") hollow fiber bundles at each end of the module. It is important that the polymer resin used is cast uniformly around the fiber ends and that bubbles are prevented. A preferred method for achieving this effect is to rotate the polymer resin using a centrifuge, as disclosed in, for example, US 4,190,411 A. Centrifugal casting of the potting material is effective as the module size and/or fiber size decreases, but if the module size exceeds a certain threshold, the centrifugal potting method is not feasible, and static potting is preferred for production. However, it has been proven difficult to use the static method when the fiber, particularly the bundle of dialysis fibers, is large and the fiber diameter is small. The present invention proposes a hollow fiber module with an increased membrane area. In the following detailed parts of the disclosure, aspects, embodiments, and implementations will be described in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the module. Figure 2 is a top view of the end cap. Figure 3 shows a module in a cut state to examine the inner side in detail. Figure 4 shows a detailed example of the embodiment of Figure 3. Figure 5 illustrates an enlarged cut section of the module. Figure 6 shows a part of the connector. Figure 7 shows a partial cut connector. FIG. 8 illustrates the cap of the module viewed from the inside. Figure 9 shows an exploded view of a module in which only 2 of the 6 cartridges are present. FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which cartridges are positioned extending from each other. FIG. 11 shows a second embodiment using an adapter between a cup-shaped receiving portion and a hollow fiber cartridge. FIG. 12 discloses an embodiment in which the end cap is integrated with the connector. FIG. 13 shows a third embodiment in detail with the end cap removed. In the embodiments described below, structures and features identical or similar to the corresponding structures and features previously described or illustrated in this specification are indicated by the same reference numerals previously used for brevity. FIGS. 1 through 9 illustrate the same embodiment of the present invention. A hollow fiber module (1) comprises six hollow fiber cartridges (2). Each cartridge comprises a bundle of semipermeable hollow fibers, that is, hollow fibers that are permeable to some types of materials but not to others. An outer sheath (3) is provided around the bundle of semipermeable fibers. The outer sheath (3) extends longitudinally along the length of the bundle of hollow fibers. At the ends (9, 12) of the bundle, the fibers are potted using a polymer resin. Since the polymer resin fixes the individual fibers to a resin matrix and connects to the inside of the ends of the outer sheath (3), the resin is essentially level with the edge of the outer sheath. The semipermeable fiber bundles are potted in the polymer resin so that the hollow interior of the fibers can be used for centripetal or centrifugal flow of liquid. When fibers are potted into the outer shell, the lumen-side volume is defined by the internal space (lumen) of the fibers, and the outer shell-side volume is defined by the external space of the fibers, which is defined by the inner side of the outer shell and the inner side of the polymer resin matrix. The outer shell (3) is provided with a port (5') for receiving a solution and another port (5") for discharging the treated solution. The ports (5', 5") are spaced apart from each other along the length of the cartridge so that the material can be exchanged through a semipermeable membrane when the solution is transported from the inlet port (5') to the outlet port (5"). In the illustrated embodiment, the port is a tap extending radially from the axis of the cartridge. However, other embodiments are conceivable, including an embodiment in which the port (5') is merely an opening for receiving a solution from a source and the port (5") is an opening for delivering the treated solution to a recipient. Six hollow fiber cartridges are positioned within the module. A first end cap (6) is provided at one end of the module